A/N: Hey guys! So I'm going to take a moment to let you in on my opinion of the General. Most people seem to portray her as uncaring or whatever but I think that she is in a position of authority and it is her job in such a position to think of the many and not the one so she acts in accordance to that. I think that she is detached enough all the time from Chuck not to have the Bartowski charm work its magic. On paper, our awesome friend Chuck really does come across as a chump when you don't really know what happened. Its different when you get to see what a person is like day in and day out. I have what I hope you guys will find as a cool conversation between Chuck and Beckman coming up (not this chapter but with in the next couple or so) where they come to an understanding. She is going to interact differently with Eve. That being said, I am still trying to keep her true to her character. Let me know if I at all fail . . .
Oh, and before people mention this, I think it is ok if people know about Casey's background in the military. It's his association with the NSA that is a secret. There are tons of service men and women out there and their services should be recognized and honored.
As always, thanks for reading and if you feel like dropping a review, I'd appreciate it =)
Chapter Eight
General Diane Beckman was able to tie up all the loose ends for a while and attend all the necessary meetings for the time being and was now on her way to spend a little personal time with her favorite grandchild. Well, her only grandchild but that just means Eve is the uncontested favorite. When David had told her they were adopting a girl so soon after Trisha lost their baby, she thought for sure that, one, it was far too soon after such an incident to be able to make the wisest decisions in regards to adoption and two, it would be a baby. She had been surprised to say the least when it turned out David and Trisha were going through the adoption process for an eight year old girl.
Diane hadn't been happy with her son being so adamant about making her a grandmother but even she has to admit that being grandma sure beats being mother. You get to teach grandchildren all the things you weren't able to show you children and let their parents pick up the pieces. As they say, turn about is fair play.
While it would have been great to know the child Trisha would have given birth to, having Eve was definitely a blessing. Diane didn't hide her opinion on the matter when Trisha and David were going through the adoption process but after finally meeting Eve, she could tell that Eve was not your typical eight year old child. Eve was much wiser than half the people she worked for and with. Diane doesn't know the whole story about Eve's childhood as Eve is extremely closed off from discussing the topic but it never stopped Eve from being open to a new family. Eve's time in the foster care system was also off limits to everyone. The only person who might know something about Eve from when she was younger would be Casey, but even then it was questionable.
From the time Eve became a member of the family, she was always driven to be the best. She aced all her classes, was a well-rounded student participating in plays, sports teams and various other clubs, was the class President and Valedictorian in High School. She was definitely the prettiest and most popular girl in high school but not the type of popular person that teased people. As a matter of fact, she stopped most of that kind of thing from happening. Teachers said that they'd never had such a connected group of students in all the time they worked there. And even though she was that busy with school she still found the time to be active at the community center she frequented as a child, run marathons for fundraisers and volunteer at the soup kitchen over winter breaks all the while being a renowned gymnast. She never got into trouble. Everyone on the base knew who Evelyn Jane Fisher was and everyone liked her. She was well loved amongst all. She payed her own way to get a car, saving up every last dollar she could over the summer, not once asking for a penny from her parents even when they offered. She was the dream child that all parents longed to have. Perfect in every way imaginable.
It was almost like Eve was so afraid to loose her new family that she wanted to be the perfect child to make them want to stay around. It was sad that she had such a concept of what family was, that if you weren't good enough, people would leave you. If Diane ever found out who her father was, she would personally see to his demise. That pathetic son of a bitch taught her beloved granddaughter that family meant nothing unless you were good enough for them to want to stick around.
Of course, had it not been for that man, she wouldn't have Eve for a granddaughter. And had it not have been for that terrible, terrible night when David had to chose to save Trisha or their unborn child, they wouldn't have been at the same hospital as Eve. Apparently, she was at the hospital because of something a foster parent did to her. Diane was fairly certain Major Casey took care of that one.
Diane arrived to the apartment complex, taking a moment to look around. She had to admit that there were worse places she could think of to be assigned than LA, especially with how well the landlord set the atmosphere for comfort in this place. The beautiful flowers around the courtyard were full of color and well managed. Not a single dreary flower in sight. The fountain provided a tranquility to the hustle and bustle happening just outside the complex. And all the apartments looked inviting.
When she passed in front of the asset's home, she had to do a double take. There, in the front room on the couch, was the asset and his handler, cuddled together. They looked to be the perfect couple. Both had a serene look on their face and it seemed as though were at peace, wrapped together as if they were truly lovers and not faking it. The asset had one arm being used as a pillow by his protector and the other was draped across her, hugging her to him as though he were keeping her from falling off. As for the agent, one arm was tucked underneath her chin while the other rested atop the asset's with their fingers intertwined.
If it were anyone else, Diane might have felt this was a kodak moment. If it were anyone else, she might have felt to leave them to an uninterrupted moment of bliss. However, instead, she felt the familiar tingle of anger at the sight. Had they not just gone through almost being separated? It was hard to hide in sleep what was so easily masked by daylight. 'This has gone on long enough. I will not stand for this amount of compromise.'
***********
One moment, Sarah was sleeping peacefully, and in the next, her instincts were on high alert. At this time she didn't feel as though she and Chuck were in trouble. More like they were being watched. It's a strange feeling, the feeling of being watched. It's like in those times, your thoughts are not yours alone, as though the watcher was trying to get in your head and listen in on them.
Suddenly it was as if someone was radiating anger towards them. Sarah sprung into action, gracefully easing herself from the confines of Chuck's arms without waking him and cocking her gun in one foul swoop. She was instinctually aware of where the person was but not who they were since she was still in that half asleep, half awake state.
*********
Beckman was surprised at the sound of a gun cocking and looked through the window to see a half asleep agent pointing a gun directly at her heart. 'Thank God she hasn't pulled the trigger,' she thought. 'When did she move? Maybe she is capable of taking care of him even in her state of compromise.' Beckman duly waived that last thought away as a look of recognition mixed with confusion made it's way across the agent's face as she dropped the gun to her side.
********
Sarah started to recognize who she was pointing her gun at as one General Beckman. Confused as to her presence, Sarah slowly lowered her gun and pushed open the window. For some reason though, she left the weapon cocked and ready to be used if necessary. "General?" she questioned. "What are you doing here?"
General Beckman's shoulders dropped from the muscles relaxing as the initial shock wore off, "I have personal business to attend to that is none of your concern, Agent Walker. What are you doing?"
Sarah knew the General must have seen her with Chuck. It was only obvious. "I was doing my job protecting my cover." She paused after she said it. It came out as though she were slightly offended the General would ask, which she was, but the best way to handle that is not to make the General think there was something to be offended about, even if Sarah took pride in her work. She put her gun back in safety mode, placing it in her waistband and then folding her arms across her chest. "How come I haven't been able to get a hold of you and now you're showing up?"
Beckman looked indignantly upon her subordinate, "Not that it is any of your business, I had to move certain things up in order to have this personal time available. I was sure you could have things well in hand for a few days, however, since my personal business has brought me here, we can have our updates. I assume there has been no change?"
"Yes, but you said that Ch- the asset was going to be used to monitor surveillance on other team's missions for flashes and we wanted to be prepared."
"Well, as I am taking personal time, consider this a vacation from that mission. I'll contact you in a few day with further orders."
"Yes, Ma'am."
Beckman looked at Sarah a moment longer and turned to leave, "If there's nothing else . . ." She trailed off with out waiting for a response and went to knock on Casey's door.
Sarah closed the window and looked at Chuck still sleeping on the couch. 'Oh, boy. What is going on?'
*********
Casey stayed at home last night while Trisha insisted on staying with Eve for the first night despite Eve's protest to the contrary. General Beckman had contacted him, letting him know she would arrive the next morning. She needed to use his connection for one last conversation with the Secretary of Defense and to make sure that her assistant was aware of how to contact her if need be before going to the hospital. Even if she was on vacation, she still had a very important job to do, but she wasn't going to have her normal security team with her so that she could keep a low profile while in Los Angeles.
Casey dutifully opened the door after he heard the knock, "General." He sidestepped and allowed her to into his apartment, securing the lock behind her. "Trisha is at the hospital with Eve," he said simply as if giving a status report which technically it was.
"Good, Major. Is everything set for the conference with the Secretary of Defense?"
"Yes, Ma'am."
"Good. Wait outside for me and then we can go to the hospital."
"Yes, ma'am." Casey did an about face to leave and sat around the fountain. He was never good at the waiting thing, even if it was a big part of his job. It was in these moments of nothing that he really got thinking about things he would rather not. As long as he kept up with the surveillance on Bartowski or cleaned his guns or prepared for missions or completed paperwork or even working hard at the Buy More, he didn't have to think about emotions and things. They could be ignored if he kept himself busy enough. But sitting around, twiddling your thumbs . . . waiting made things practically impossible to avoid. He doesn't understand how people can handle it. Patience is not something he harbors.
General Beckman walked out of the apartment and took note of Casey's impatience. "Let's go, Colonel," she said with a slight smile. Though her meeting wasn't about Casey, the Secretary of Defense mentioned the approval his promotion at the end of their conversation.
Casey looked confused, "General?"
"Yes?"
"Colonel?"
Diane's smile eased into one of admiration that a parent would give their child. John had been friends with David since they were young boys and Diane had come to think of John as one of her own in some respects. His parents being happy for him didn't happen often so when good things happened for him she made sure he knew someone was proud of him. "After review of your more recent services I put in a recommend for a promotion."
John nodded and looked down to his lap, thinking she did it because of Eve so he didn't deserve the promotion.
Diane knew what he was thinking too so before he objected too much, she explained, "It's not because of what you are doing with Eve, although I am very grateful for that too. I actually put in for the promotion a few months ago. They've just been arguing about whether to make you a Lieutenant Colonel or actually be able to skip straight to Colonel."
Casey grunted and offered a tight smile appreciatively, feeling a sense of pride at the accomplishment but said nothing. He stood and started walking to the car with the General.
************
Trisha and Eve sat in her hospital room playing Go Fish for the better part of an hour. Eve had won most of the games they'd played but Trisha was finally giving her a run for her money. "Do you have any 2's?"
"Go Fish." Eve was propped up on the mechanical bed in a sitting position. The light green blanket was thrown haphazardly across her lap and she was being careful not to pull at the IV she has for the Arsenic drop. Today they started her on some pain medication that could be used while having Arsenic in the system so in comparison to the past two or three days she was feeling remarkably better. Without having had radiation for about five days, her skin was really coming along in the healing process. Granted it still had a long way to go but it wasn't nearly as bothersome now. Plus they had been more consistent about using the burn cream. "Do you have any Kings?"
Trisha sighed and gave her the card she just literally picked up. "Here you go."
Eve giggled excitedly and laid out the cards on the small table. "Do you have any 3's?"
"No. Go Fish."
Eve picked up a card from the table as a knock came from the door. Both ladies attention was turned away from the game momentarily to see who it was. Most likely it was Ethan or one of the other nurses checking in but when red hair led through the door with a tall man behind, Eve knew exactly who it was and exclaimed, "Grams! You made it!" Her eyes lit up like a kid in a candy shop at the sight of her grandmother.
Diane easily countered Eve's enthusiasm with some of her own, "Oh, Eve! It's so wonderful to see you."
Eve put the cards down on the table, forgetting about the game and beckoned her grandma closer, "I thought it'd be a while til you got here."
Diane sat gently on the side of the bed so as not to jostle Eve too much, "I was able to get everything done earlier than I anticipated."
"Well that's awesome! I'm so glad you're here."
"As am I." Diane took in the sight of her only grandchild. She does look quite tired and frail, more so than when she saw her over the teleconference at Casey's. But her eyes still held a lively glint and a surprising amount of happiness and she couldn't help but share the good news about John, knowing he wouldn't share it. "Guess what we just found out?" she said looking back to John.
"What?" Eve and Trisha asked together.
John grunted, "Oh, now, General, let's not make a big deal out of this."
"Out of what?" Trisha asked.
"John's a Colonel now," she said.
"Really?" Trisha countered looking at John with pride. "John, that's great!"
"That's awesome, Uncle Casey! Congratulations."
At that moment, Ellie walked in and was able to hear the last part, "Hey. What happened, John?" She had seen him walk in so she had grabbed the research she did for him about Dr. Williams. luckily she had been on her break at the time.
"Hi, Dr. Bartowski," Eve said. "Uncle Casey just got a promotion."
Ellie, not knowing what it was for, assumed it was at the Buy More, "John, that's great. I'm sure you'll do fantastic in management."
"Oh, no," Eve said, "He went from Major to Colonel."
Ellie's face showed more surprise, "Oh, that's even better. Congratulations, John. I'll have to make you some dinner to celebrate."
John grunted. His grunt said yes but the words that came out were, "That won't be necessary."
"But it is necessary. It's not everyday you're in the midst of a service man in that rank. It'd be an honor." Ellie took note of the uniform this new person sitting next Eve on the bed was wearing. She doesn't know much about military ranks but she was sure Colonel was pretty high and this lady must be even higher. 'The stars mean General, right?' she thought. She walked closer to the new woman and stuck out a hand, "Hi, I'm Eleanor Bartowski. It's nice to meet you."
"Diane Beckman. Likewise." Even if she already knew all about Eleanor Faye Bartowski, it was different meeting her in person. People could be much differen in person than on paper and this particular person seemed to be just the same either way, a rare find indeed. One of the things Diane could never quite figure out is how Ellie was so together and Chuck was in such disarray. "How do you know John?" Of course she already knew the answer but Ellie didn't know that.
"Oh, John and I are next door neighbors. He works with my brother, Chuck."
"Ah. I see." The General took note of the glint of pride in her eyes at the mention of her brother.
Eve couldn't contain her excitement at her grandmother's appearance and directed the attention back to her arrival, "So, Grams. How long are you staying?"
"Well, Eve dear, as long as nothing that is too pressing comes along, I'm here for as long as is necessary."
"Oh, that's good news, Diane," Trisha said. Despite any shortcomings they have in their relationship, Eve loved Diane a lot, so Trisha could put aside her feelings. No one said it would be easy to go from being an asset of the government to the daughter-in-law of the officer in charge of the mission. "Where are you staying?"
"I still need to go get a hotel room but I was too excited to see you guys so I haven't done it yet. John has my things at his place right now."
"You can stay with my fiancé, Devon, and me if you'd like," Ellie offered, "Chuck is moving in with his girlfriend, Sarah, so we'll have space. That way you can be closer to your family."
Diane replied, "That's quite all right. I don't mind hotels."
"I insist," Ellie said, "Actually you'd be doing me a favor. Then I can have the soon to be in-laws stay with Chuck and Sarah." John let out a grunt/laugh. The security tapes from when they came to town the first time were too entertaining to discard. No one commented so Ellie continued,"Really, it's not a problem. I'd really appreciate it."
Diane thought it over for a few moments. It's not like the asset was going to be there. They were ordered to move in together. She wasn't here for them anyway. And it would put her closer to Trisha and Casey so they could car pool to the hospital or on the days that Eve was able to go home they'd all be near each other, that is if she is allowed to leave. "Okay."
"Great," Ellie said with a relieved smile, "I'll have the place ready for you. I'll be off work at three. Would you want a ride with me or do you have a car?"
"A ride would be nice. I'll be here."
"Okay." Ellie lifted the folder in her hand and looked to John. She was only on her break so she needed to hand this over soon, "Um, could I speak with you outside John?"
He nodded and went outside with Ellie. She handed him the folder and he asked, "What's this?"
"I got you a copy of Dr. Williams public file from the hospital as well as pieces he's sent into medical journals regarding the treatment."
"How'd you get it?"
"The file? Oh, Devon and I broke into the Chief's office and made a copy."
"Really?" John said in disbelief. Of course he wasn't that gullible but she just thought he was sweet John the next door neighbor.
Ellie laughed, "Of course not silly. I asked for it. Besides it's public record so anyone can make a request for it. I thought you might want to look over it."
"Thanks, Ellie."
"Sure," Ellie said turning to walk down the hall, "Remember, John, anything you guys need, just ask." She walked to the front desk and grabbed the telephone to call Chuck to let him know he needs to stay with Sarah.
*************
After her rude awakening with General Beckman, Sarah decided to get ready for the day and get to the bottom of what ever is going on. She was a little perturbed that Beckman has shown up. 'Is my performance being evaluated again? Is my partnership with Casey going to be dissolved? What is going on?' These and so many other questions ran through her mind. If everyone would just communicate with each other, then maybe this wouldn't be such an issue.
Sarah came out of the bathroom after showering to find Chuck awake on the couch playing some video game. "Morning," she said brightly, her concerns leaving her mind if only for a moment. She walked to the couch and sat on the arm rest.
Chuck turned his attention towards her as he paused the game, "Hey beautiful," he said cheerily, and then realized there was no one around for cover duty. He cleared his throat and changed the subject, "So is the plan just to finish painting today? Morgan wanted to know if I could take Anna on-call shift because he has some special night planned. I told him I'd check with you."
Sarah smiled involuntarily at his compliment. She shrugged her shoulder, "Well, yeah. That's all I have planned, unless you wanted me to say no."
"No, no. I don't mind taking her shift. She picked up mine so we could paint yesterday."
"Okay, then that's fine with me." Sarah stood up and went to the kitchen, "Is it alright if I make a sandwich?"
Chuck smiled, "Of course. You don't have to ask."
"I know but still," Sarah responded sheepishly. It still felt somewhat awkward acting like Chuck's apartment was hers when she didn't even live there. Almost like she was intruding. 'Hopefully it won't feel like that at our place.' Sarah shook off that thought. 'Of course it won't. You're gonna be living there.' "Would you like one?"
"Sure," Chuck said returning his attention back to the game. It had been about five minutes since Sarah left when his phone started ringing. Looking at the caller ID he noted it was the hospital calling. 'Hmm, must be Ellie,' he thought as he answered, wedging the phone between his shoulder and ear so he could still play, "Hello?"
"Hey, Chuck. Its me," the familiar voice of Ellie came through.
"Hey. How's it going?"
Ellie could hear the video game going in the background and said in a motherly tone, "Chuck, aren't you supposed to be finishing with the paint job? You guys only have the one room and the hallway left."
"Yeah, yeah," he said distractedly, "Oh come on- Sarah's just making some sandwiches for an early lunch and then we're going over."
"Okay. Speaking of which, since the furniture isn't gonna be delivered until tomorrow, you think you could stay at Sarah's tonight?"
"I don't know. I'd have to ask. Why?"
Ellie shook her head, "I will never understand your relationship, Chuck. It's not like you guys aren't moving in together already."
"I know. It's just . . . Sarah likes her space and I think she should have it for a couple more days," Chuck said, sounding less than convincing. He didn't want to intrude. She was already being forced to live with him. He could at least give her some space for what little time she has left of it.
Ellie's tone grew concerned, "Did something happen?"
"No. Why?"
"You sound like you're second guessing the moving in thing. You guys didn't have a fight, did you?"
"No, no fight and no second guessing. It's just . . . well . . . you know how private Sarah can be."
"It's something I've come to notice, yes," Ellie said flatly. "Look, either way, John's relative needs a place to stay and I didn't think it'd be a problem for you to stay with Sarah so I offered to let her stay with us."
Sarah walked in carrying two plates and two drinks. Her left arm had one plate on her forearm and the other in her hand while the right had both drinks. She placed one sandwich down in front of Chuck and a glass of water. She sat back against the couch and took a bite of her sandwich, content to watch Chuck play his game a little more before finishing up their little project.
He said 'thank you' to her in sign language and lipped 'Ellie' so she would know who he was talking to. "Oh, anyone I know? I didn't know John's relatives were in town." Chuck reached for the drink and took a sip. He wondered why Casey's family would be in town if there was nothing serious going on. 'Maybe its just a cover but then why would Ellie know about it?'
"Probably not. Her name is Diane Beckman."
Chuck spit out the water all over the coffee table and started coughing. Sarah watched a look of shock cross his face as the color drained from it and wondered what Ellie had said.
"Chuck, are you alright?" Ellie asked.
"Yeah, fine," Chuck said between coughs. He tapped his hand on his chest in an attempt to help the coughing subside. "Woo, sorry. Wrong tube," he lied.
"Chuck, you've got to be more careful," Ellie admonished.
"Right, well, let me call you right back," he said quickly moving to hang up.
"I only have five minutes left on my break so hurry up."
"Okay, great. Bye," he said nervously as he disconnected the call. Looking up at Sarah, his face paled some more.
"What was that about?" Sarah asked.
"Oh, nothing. Nothing at all. Just my kind, sweet, caring sister invited the bane of my existence to stay with her while she is in town. Nothing too serious," he said in that sort of joking, but I'm freaking out kind of way.
"'The bane of your existence?'" Sarah repeated, confused.
"Oh, yeah. See, it appears General Beckman is in town- thanks for the warning by they way- and Ellie is letting her stay here. She wants me to stay with you tonight. See Ellie isn't aware that we," Chuck said motioning between the two of them, "are a cover. But Beckman is quite aware of that fact so . . ."
"Oh, yeah. About that. I didn't know she was in town until this morning. After she sort of saw us sleeping on the couch."
"Oh, great. I see you've had quite the eventful morning already. Is Carina in town? Or maybe Bryce?"
"You need to calm down, Chuck."
"Calm down?! Sarah, she is staying with my sister. Don't you understand what that means?" Chuck didn't wait for her reply, "It means, that we," he motioned between them again, "are going to have to do couply things in front of the General and somehow keep her convinced that we are still professional, which we are but still. I don't want another handler, Sarah."
She could see his point. Having her here so soon after the 49B was definitely not good, especially after Chuck had told the General they care about each other. But he still needed to calm down. Something else was going on here, something serious and they need to figure out what it is. "Alright, Chuck. I see the predicament but Chuck, let's be calm for a moment," Sarah said, putting her hands on the side of his head, forcing him to look at her, "We need to think clearly and in order to do that, we can't panic. Okay?" He nodded his head. "Good." Realizing where her hands were, she immediately dropped them. She turned around and walked away, crossing her arms over her chest. "You are right. Beckman staying with Ellie causes some problems. If we are ever all around each other at the same time, we will have to be able to keep up appearances for both parties." Sarah sat down on the couch, resting her elbows on her knees and holding her head in her hands, "This is going to be hard."
Chuck had started to calm down. This wouldn't be so bad. They could do this, couldn't they? "Well, look at the bright side. She isn't staying with us."
Sarah laughed despite her growing dread. 'Leave it to Chuck to find something positive.' "That's very true." Silence fell over the room as both of them thought about what could happen. For Sarah, it was one thing hiding things from a superior officer that was away from the situation. It was quite another when you were going to at some point be forced to act as a couple in front of them while still keeping it professional but couplish enough so that others don't get concerned. "We can do this right? We just have to make sure we aren't around her often. I'm sure at some point Ellie will do one of her dinners but we could cut it short right?"
"Yeah, yeah. Piece of cake," Chuck said with minimal confidence. As for his part, one wrong move meant Sarah would be forced into a reassignment or he would be sent to a bunker. 'Oh boy.' Chuck called Ellie back and said that he would stay with Sarah tonight. The couple went over to their place to finish up the last bit of painting they had left. It seems Tuesday didn't have enough hours in the day to put off Wednesday for long enough. Tomorrow would be Storage Day.
********
Ellie had just finished the remaining few hours of her shift. The last patient had kept her a little longer with all the questions. She didn't mind though. It was important for patients to feel they understand the situation. The only problem was she had someone waiting for her, some one with a militarial background who probably like promptness.
She sat in the locker room and changed her shoes to sandals. She grabbed her coat and purse and started making her way to Eve's room. Eve's story was being passed around the hospital by a couple of the nurses as she was the newest full time patient to the study. The difference being that everyone felt this girl wouldn't make it through the treatment but she still had spunk. She doesn't treat the attendings rudely, instead being kind and laughing with them. Some of them even knew about her as some gymnastics star.
Eve looked down at her watch, reading three twenty. Ellie let out a sigh and knocked on the door before opening it. John sat in a chair by the window looking through the file Ellie had given him earlier. Trisha and Diane sat on either side of Eve's bed continuing to play card games while catching up. "Hi. I'm so sorry I'm late. I got caught up with a patient."
Diane placed her cards on the table. "Understandable," she said. If Chuck had been there, his jaw would have hit the floor. She didn't seem at all bothered by Ellie's tardiness. "We were just finishing up our game anyway." She turned her attention back to Eve on the bed. "Well, Eve, dear. I must take my leave. Long trips leave for a grouchy old women."
"Oh, Grams," Eve rolled her eyes at her grandmother, "You're only as old as you feel."
"If only you knew," Diane laughed and grasped both of Eve's hands in her own. She leaned forward to rest her head against Eve's as she said, "Remeber, dear child, courage is not the absense of fear but the strength to continue on anyway." She gave her hands a squeeze in support as if she could give Eve some of her strength. Diane was aware that Eve had plenty but it never hurt to know you have people in your corner.
Eve squeezed back. The first time Grams had said that was when Eve got scared at her first competition. She smiled and gave her the same response she did that day and everytime since, "Alright, Confucious." She spent a lot of time shaping her character to those words amongst others of course.
Diane pulled back as she responded in turn, "That's all grandma. Never forget you have a wise old fool for a Grandmother."
"Love you, Grams," Eve said with a smile. Every time they parted, they did the same thing. It was their special way of saying I love you, but this time, Eve just felt she had to say it even if it was implied.
Diane kissed Eve on the forehead, "Love you, too." She stood and walked around the bed to give Trisha a hug, "See you tomorrow. Goodbye, John." She gathered her belongings and walked towards the door with Ellie.
Ellie didn't want to ruin their moment and offered a slight waive to the room. Once the door was closed behind them, she led Diane through a series of twists and turns out to the parking lot.
************
In about twenty minutes, Ellie and Diane had arrived back to the apartment complex. As they were walking up to the courtyard, Ellie asked, "Is there anything in particular you would like for dinner?"
"What ever you had on the agenda I'm sure will be fine," she said. Music emnated across the courtyard as Ellie was unlocking the door. From this vantage point, you could see directly into the new apartment of Chuck and Sarah as they hadn't put any drapery up yet. The sky had become overcast and gray so they had to have the lights on which illuminated the scene even more. Sarah was sitting on one of the bar stools they borrowed from Ellie in case they wanted a break from painting. Chuck sat next to her on the other stool and while you couldn't hear what was being said between them, the two were laughing and dancing a little in their seats. Diane was brought back to earlier that morning when she saw them together, but some how this seemed different than before.
She wasn't given time to dwell on that as Ellie interrupted her thoughts, "Aww, aren't they just so cute? I can't believe they're finally doing it."
"Doing what?"
"Moving in together. They always say their relationship is complicated but when you see them like this, it's hard to think that. They just seem so right together, you know?"
"Why do they say it's complicated?"
"I don't know." Ellie pushed the door opened and led Diane to Chuck's room. "Any time I ask either one, they sort of shut down about it and get a sad look on their face like they wish it wasn't so complicated. Sarah moved here from DC I guess because things went south with her old boyfriend. I think his name was Bruce or something. Anyway, Chuck had been so hung up on his last girlfriend, Jill, until Sarah came around. I think they both want to take things really slow because of those past relationships. But they are great together."
Diane soaked in the new information only offering a small hum in reply.
"Well, this is Chuck's old room. I had him change the sheets for you so they're fresh. The bathroom is across the hall if you needed to freshen up or anything. Devon should be home around five. I'm going to change and get started on dinner. Let me know if you need anything."
"Oh you've been most helpful, Dr. Bartowski," Diane said. 'Most helpful indeed.'
"Not a problem. And, please, call me Ellie."
Diane nodded and Ellie left the room.
***********
That's all for now. Next time is another meeting with Eve and Ethan and what some people have told me they're waiting for, storage day.
